Last month, I received a call at my house (Yes, my wife and I still maintain our house phone.). When I answered the phone, the person on the other end said, “Grandpa, this is John.” (I’ve changed his name for his privacy.) “John?” I responded. “It doesn’t sound like you.” My grandson, John, is a […]
October is a busy month in our industry and particularly at PIA of New York. It comes right after the association’s annual change of administration, and the newly inducted president hardly has a chance to get comfortable with his new title before he begins touring the state on behalf of our members. I remember when […]
This summer, I participated in a webinar on ethics, offered by PIA and taught by Steve Lyon. Steve is the cream of the crop when it comes to teaching continuing education courses for our industry. I always encourage those who want something more than just credit from their professional education to take PIA’s classes—but especially […]
Recently, I had a routine checkup at a new doctor’s office. After running typical blood work, the physician told me one of the tests seemed off and asked to repeat it. I went back to the lab and got stuck again. I was advised that my results would be posted on the “Doctor’s Portal,” […]
Before I share my opinion on this topic, I will admit to a brief Internet search. As I expected, Google revealed no shortage of customer service advice supporting what I have to say. One source opines that business interests consider the value of a client over a lifetime versus a customer who is forgotten after […]
For decades, I worked with a local alarm company that knew my home alarm system inside and out. Early this year, I received a letter from a different alarm company based in Wichita, Kansas, informing me that it had taken over my local vendor and if I had any questions or issues, I could […]
It was welcome news to agents last month when Google announced it would withdraw from the online insurance sales business. It turned out Google Compare, the online auto insurance comparison-shopping tool, was not a big hit and after just a year, the search engine said it would fold its price comparison services. According to the […]
Sometimes rules that are created to address a real problem have unintended consequences. Such is the case with New York’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics, widely known as “JCOPE.” Late in January, JCOPE voted for an advisory opinion to expand the definition of lobbying to include communications between public relations firms and journalists. So, if […]
I hope everyone had a good holiday season. I had one of ups and downs. At the beginning of the season, we needed to replace our air conditioning unit, so we called an HVAC contractor. Several men came, replaced the broken AC and tested the air ducts to make sure the correct flow took place. […]
The holidays crept up on many of us this year, but not on PIANY: The association surveyed its members and held focus groups by way of Advisory Councils in October to pinpoint the issues members want their association to focus on—issues that impact our businesses every day. And, once those were identified, PIA volunteers took […]
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